A Wasted Opportunity
There he was, with a smirk on his face watching the stage from the side. Dave thought that the band sucked but the light show was pretty insane. Two friends were present there to the right of him. Even if he had anything of value to say, they wouldn't be able to hear him amidst the wailing amps, the angry drums, and the noise of a restless crowd. It would take a nudge and a yell to get their attention, only to state the obvious, so he just watched the show. His friends probably felt the same way about the show anyways so why waste his breath? What the band lacked in talent they made up in strobe lights. Just watching the drummer's arms was a trip, especially when the smoke bombs went off. Everything was going smoothly until -
“Hey, your band was awesome.”
Dave turned to his left to see a cute brunette with two friends; an odd coincidence. He knew that his friends were glued to the stage but the girl's friends were not. They were looking at Dave. Perhaps it was his high, his laziness, his carefree attitude, or the girl's friends that provoked such a thoughtless response from Dave. It was a disastrous utter, a slap in the face to freedom of speech. It was a shameful display of character to all who saw it. For some reason - or perhaps none at all - all Dave could manage to say was “thanks” and he then turned his head back to the stage.
Thanks? Thanks?!?! Is that all he's got? Thanks?! The worst part was that he turned back to watch the crappy show. Maybe the lights attracted his dazed mind more than the girl did at the time. Couldn't he at least follow it up with anything? Anything at all? His band didn't even play that well that night.
After turning back, Dave heard laughter coming from the girls. Maybe they were laughing at Dave or maybe at their friend who “failed” to get his attention. Dave laughed by himself and at himself and shrugged it off. It didn't matter to him because he was high.
But still, couldn't he have said something else instead of a simple, bare-minimum response?
“Are you kidding? We sucked!”
“Does that compliment come with a name?”
“Hey thanks. Maybe you'd like to drop by at one of our practices.”
“Is that your real opinion, or did your friends dare you to say that?”
“Do my eyes look red?”
“Hey baby, wanna fuck?”
Anything but thanks!